Must-see LGBTQ+ films every straight ally should watch

A starting point for allies to watch our stories!

Do you struggle to find movies that you can watch with your straight friends or family?

Maybe you want to introduce them to queer films, but you don't know where to start. Maybe you want to educate them on a specific part of queer history. Maybe you just want to have a good time watching a great movie with some straight people.

Whatever you reason might be, Out has assembled a list of movies that highlight important parts of queer history, show loving relationships between cis straight characters and LGBTQ+ people, and/or shine a light on parts of queer culture that cis straight people might not know about.

Many of them center around how queer and non-queer people actually have a lot in common, and when we team up, we're better and stronger than we are alone.

These are movies that we want real life to be more like.

Below, a fantastic list of LGBTQ+ movies that every ally should consider watching!

'Moonlight'

Not only does Moonlight offer a rare and beautiful glimpse into the world of gay Black men, but it is also plainly one of the best films of the century. Barry Jenkins' three-act coming-of-age story follows Chiron through his youth and adulthood as a gay Black man finding his way in the world.

'To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar'

In this heartwarming 90s comedy, Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes, and John Leguizamo play a trio of drag queens on a cross-country road trip who get pulled over and hate-crimed by a cop and have to stop in a small town. The town's residents all see the three as women, not knowing they are drag queens, and both sides help each other out. It's filled with beautiful examples of allyship and cross-community love.

'Monica'

Reunion, reconciliation, and returning home are themes at the heart of this film, Monica, starring Trace Lysette and Patricia Clarkson. It stars Lysette as a trans woman who returns to her hometown to help take care of her ailing mother, whom she hasn't seen since she was kicked out for transitioning over a decade earlier. Read our review.

'Everything Everywhere All at Once'

Parents of queer children might find a lot to relate to in this wild sci-fi Oscar-winner starring Michelle Yeoh. In it, Yeoh plays Evelyn Wang, the immigrant mother of a queer daughter (Stephanie Hsu) who has to travel across the multiverse to repair her relationship with her daughter to save everything.

'Love, Simon'

Greg Berlanti's lovable teen drama/rom-com Love, Simon was the first major studio film centering a gay teen romance. It stars Nick Robinson as Simon, a closeted teen who finds out there's another gay teen at his high school and starts an anonymous email conversation with him. Simon is then blackmailed by a fellow student who threatens to out him by exposing the emails. It's a beautiful film about the fears of being a queer teen, and what it's like to be loved by those around you.

'Anything's Possible'

At a time when political discourse about trans teens is at an all-time high, this straightforward and tender high school drama shows the reality of what being a trans teen is like. It's not all politics, trends, and internet subcultures; instead, it's friendship, crushes, and protective parents, basically the same as being any other teen.

'Disclosure'

Disclosure is a documentary that everyone who watches TV or movies needs to see. It goes back to the very beginnings of filmmaking and Hollywood to show how trans people have been portrayed since cameras were first invented. Featuring trans luminaries like Laverne Cox, Jen Richards, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, and Brian Michael Smith, Disclosure lets trans people explain how trans representation in media has directly affected their lives.

'Pride'

Pride is a feel-good film based on real historical events when a group of queer people formed the group Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners to bolster the Welsh miner's strike of 1984. Small-town miners and their wives come together with big city queers to form a tight-knit community that supports each other through tough times in this film, sending a perfect message to audiences, both straight and gay.

'The Birdcage'

The Birdcage — a comedy classic featuring an all-star cast including Nathan Lane, Robin Williams, Gene Hackman, Dianne Wiest, and Hank Azaria — will make any audience laugh until they cry. It centers around the marriage between the son of a gay couple and the daughter of a conservative senator, with Lane crossdressing to pretend to be the mother of the groom and make their family more palatable for the bride's parents and family. In the end, the straights learn they have a lot in common with gay parents and even rely on them to save the day.

'Paris Is Burning'

The Paris Is Burning documentary offers a vital glimpse into gay and trans history in New York City. It highlights members of New York's ballroom scene in the mid-to-late 80s, and not only shows the affect that discrimination and AIDS had on the community, but also shows the beauty and cultural impact of the queer community in a real and intimate way.

'But I'm a Cheerleader'

Jamie Babbit's 1999 campy comedy is not only hilarious and centered around a great lesbian love story, but it also offers a look into the horrors of conversion therapy, without being too off-putting for straight audiences. It's an approachable and uproarious look at how dangerous and evil conversion therapy is, and why it will never work.